Christian Distinctiveness
Prayer & Reflection
At St Christopher’s Church of England Primary prayer and reflection are central to our day. Each class has a spiritual area where children have the opportunity to reflect upon the current Collective Worship theme. In conjunction with this the children are developing an outdoor spiritual area which facilitates reflection and spirituality.
In times of collective worship, we are reminded of the prayer that Jesus taught us to say: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen. We also light a candle as part of our assembly: we do this because a candle is a symbol of Jesus, the light of the world, and because the candle carries on burning, carrying on our prayer, even when we are not speaking. It is also a visible sign that worship has begun.
A prayer box is also available in the foyer. At the end of our assembly, we blow out the candle to bring that act of worship to a close. We close our assembly with ‘peace be with you’ and the respond ‘and also with you’.
Collective Worship
Collective worship takes place every day in our school. Each half term we focus on one theme which aims to link our values with bible stories and other aspects of the Christian tradition. It is important that children help to organise and take part in Collective Worship alongside our Year Six 'Worship Squad' who organise their own sessions. At the heart of each Worship is a Christian story or teaching based around biblical scripture, ‘I wonder’ to reflect on, and a prayer from the children. We also say "peace be with you" with the response "and also with you". At the end of the worship we share the message "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord". It is an opportunity for prayer and reflection as well as a take away message to reflect upon in our class spiritual areas.
Typically, each Collective Worship follows the pattern of Gather, Engage, Respond and Send.
Gather: We prepare to meet with God
Engage: We encounter Jesus and the stories of the Bible. We listen for God’s message to us.
Respond: We respond to what we have heard and seen. We are given the opportunity to worship together
Send: We are sent out to love and serve
We are also very fortunate to have a visiting member from Red Lodge Church, Diane Grano who holds Collective Worship and runs our Christian based ‘Blaze’ bible study club. Children look forward to Diane's sessions each half-term.
Our Collective Worship Timetable
MONDAY: Key Stage Collective Worship led by the Head Teacher or The Spiritual Lead. We follow the pattern of the festivals and seasons of the Christian Year. At the heart of each Worship is a Christian story or teaching based around biblical scripture, ‘I wonder’ to reflect on and a prayer from the children. It is an opportunity for prayer and reflection as well as a take away message to reflect upon in our class spiritual areas.
TUESDAY: Key Stage Hall Collective Worship led by Class Teachers. Each class Teacher leads a Collective Worship. This is following the theme set for the week and includes biblical stories and reflection on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ our Lord.
WEDNESDAY: In Class Worship. This follows a zoom led worship given by a class teacher or the Year Six pupils leading Collective Worship.
THURSDAY: Class worship, for Key Stage 1 and hall worship for Key Stage 2 a more intimate time for reflection, song and praise.
FRIDAY: A celebration of what has been achieved in school (such as an announcement of the House Point totals for the week; a chance to celebrate and share the acts those children who have been awarded a PRIDE Value, awarding of certificates for merits each term). The Friday celebration always ends with the School Blessing led by a member of the collective worship team, as a way of sending the children and adults out into the world to live out the values that they live by in school.
We also regularly visit Red Lodge Church for collective worship and enjoy our visits led by Diane Grano our church member. Additionally, we have a 'Collective Worship Squad', where 2 members from each Year Six class in the school visit the other classes to lead Collective Worship themselves.
If you would like any further information regarding collective worship at St Christopher's, please contact our RE Lead, Mrs Stevens at: office@stcprimary.suffolk.sch.uk
Links with the Church
St Christopher’s is a small friendly church, which is a partnership between the Church of England and the Methodist traditions. Reverend David Butcher and his wife Reverend Caroline Butcher are the Church of England Leaders and Reverend Sang Woo Seo is the Methodist Minister. Our Sunday Services, which include Junior Church, are held each week at 11am in St Christopher’s Church on Boundary Road and on the 4th Sunday of each month at 11am there is a Café-style service in the Sports Pavilion.
Janice Gee is a member of St Christopher’s church, part of their decision making council and employed as their part time Children and Families Worker. In addition she is a volunteer with the Lightwave Community in Red Lodge.
St Christopher’s works with the school providing pastoral support for both staff and pupils and is also involved in joint activities which include; Collective Worship, “Open The Book” assemblies, After-School Clubs with the Lightwave community (Blaze for KS1, Ignite for KS2 currently held in the Sports Pavilion) and one-off events such as Experiencing Christmas and Experiencing Easter.
For more information about St Christopher's Church, pleas contact: Reverend David Butcher on 01638 515665 or revdavidbutcher@gmail.com or Reverend SangWoo Seo on 01638 662837 sangwoo.seo@methodist.org.uk
We'd also like to introduce Diane Grano who works very closely with our school and local church in her role of Pioneer Mission Enabler.